There seems to be many mis-conceptions and fears from those quarter midget racers that are use to running the Vega tire and now have the chance to race/qualify with the Hoosier quarter midget tires. This can be another great topic on the USAC forum to get input from racers that have run both the Vega tire and are now also running the new Hoosier tires. Specifically we are talking about the A35 and the A40 right side tires.

There have been many questions from racers that are interested in coming and racing at Gateway as well as other USAC .25 events. Let’s use this forum to discuss how you use your Hoosier tires, how they perform after a number of races, brand new out of the wrapper and your lap times after each heat cycle or race.

I know that we have set 4 new track records at two different race tracks on the Hoosier tires this year.

We have found that they preform better after a few races on them. We have only had to buy two sets of right sides this year. They seem to take about five to six laps to come in. After that the laps times pick up. We have had good luck with this tire. the only problem we have found is the lack of consistency on roll out.

The Hoosier seems to work better and last longer if you do a short scrub-in session and let them cool for 24 hours according to the manufacturer's instructions.

They seem to take a race heat cycle better when you do this. It also allows the tire cords to get broken in a bit. I like to size my tires for stagger after a scrub and cool down. Generally see tire stretch of 1/8th to 1/4 after scrubbing, somtimes more.

Tire roll-out has been extremely inconsistent, but Hoosier states that that are working on this. I have had tires mount up between 34 and 35.25 while using the same size mounting ring and air pressure and with tires from the same lot code. Some tires have been straight across the tread, some have some camber too them. Overinflating them for few minutes after mounting helps with getting a proper profile (also per Hoosier recomendations)

They will grow more during a race from tire pressure gain given the type of construction.

You will need more left sides to manage stagger. You need to watch your ride heights and cross weights with the tire size variances.

The higher side of Hoosier's suggested air pressure range has worked for us.

I'd be interested in hearing what people think about the new thicker tread Vega's and how they are working vs. the earlier versions.

Guys.......I would stick with the Hoosiers, although the Vegas are better now and are lasting longer, they still have issues that make you want to slap on NEW ones every third race or so. If you hit the Stagger right they are great but if you are off by an 8th they will feather on the inside edge, (same goes for PSI in the tire, miss it and they feather). I have also found that the Stanley's seem to like the used Vega better then the new Vega, this maybe due to the heat cycle. Now please understand that this is on my cars and I cannot spoke for the others also I have no idea to what the Nervo guy’s would say.

You seem to have a good thing going with the Hoosier's and I would not recommend at this point to switch.

The wear of the Hoosiers is Excellent!!! The only complaint I have had with them is the inconsistency of tire size and the Left sides don’t seem to hold air for extended periods of time. Hoosier is very cooperative and takes problem tires back to research so I have faith that they will continue to work on improving them.

From laps 10-300 there is no significant drop in lap times so they don’t fade away as the Vegas did and we get 6 times the races out of them at least. They enabled us to be competitive this year without having to bolt on new tires every race as we had to before with the Vegas.

I had an odd experience recently with a set of Hoosiers. We ran practice on old Hoosiers and ran serveral 5.4x second laps. Then we slapped on new right sides with very close circumference and pressures to the ones we took off and we qualified slow, maybe 15/100ths off the practice times, like a 5.6 second lap!

They got a touch quicker in the Races maybe down to 5.5x second laps but we never saw 5.4 second laps again on this set of Hoosiers.

Now they are off the car and marked "slow" on them.

We seem to run our fastest laps in the Heat races after practicing on old tires and qualifying on a new set. Last race we qualified on old tires to see if we improved our times.

Where we race, in our class, the points leaders and most others are using 1-2 sets of right sides per race day.

I try to use a set that I have a heat cycle on to qualify. They seem to work the best. There have been times when running three cars I run out of scuffed tires so in those instances I use new tires and use a 80 grit grinder to prep them. I run my tires for about 4 races or until I start to see a diagonal cord running across the tire. When you see this the tire has about 10% life left in and it will go away very quickly. The dimples will still be visible though.

The tires self clean most of the time...but when I have to I use a heat gun on them.

The A35 tire will be the tire of choice for many this time of year here in the upper Midwest. Some have been running a A40 right rear with a A35 right front with some pretty good results.

I have not had the sizing issue that I hear from some racers....guess it is better to be lucky than good.

My setups are not really any different than when we ran the Vega tire. Don’t be afraid of trying something different you may just find a speed secret that others don’t have. Once you run the Hoosier tires a couple of times I think you will really like how long they last and how the lap times don’t fall off.

I think the Hoosiers performed very well. I did have some minor issues with them like when they tread started to peel when flipped. That was early in the year and I gave that tire back for Hoosier to inspect. (Eric...they still owe me a tire!) Hoosier did address this...but you cannot flip the 35's for this reason. I felt the grip was good and the tire was forgiving. I did go through more tires this year then I did using Vegas last year, so I think they wear quicker. Part of that was that I could not flip them due to the tread pealing issue. Now, I can say that they stay consistent over the life of that wear while the Vegas did not. The Vega did not wear out as fast, but faded as it wore. The only other thing I don't like is that issue of when the cord shows on the tire, it is pretty much done. The tire seems to go from good to bad in a heartbeat, like flicking a switch. So in a 50 lap race it may be good for 30 and then suddenly it just is GONE. The cord was not showing when you pushed off, but after 30 laps it is showing but the car is still on the track! After the race you see the cord and know why the handle went away. Would be nice if there was a little grace period in there! LOL

But overall, the Hoosier has been a very good tire this year and kept the competition in check as everyone at every USAC event was not slapping on sticker tires for every race!

From what I have seen through the year the A35 is very Vega like. The A35 comes in way faster than a Vega. Durability is awesome. Here's an example of one set of A35's run times Sr honda Tampa heat and 2nd A main Lt 160 Tampa 1st A main Sr Stock Buckeye practice, heat, 1st A main Sr Stock open practice Miami Valley, qualifying practice, .15 under track record on 4th lap set by same car, same motor, on Vegas the year before 160 Kokomo fun race, heat, A main 1st Tires were junk nowA40's are more similiar to a FA Firestone, come in quick and keep getting faster. A35's like an easy scuff in and will be faster.A40's like a good heat cycle or two and will be faster.Front to rear balance is better than the Vegas.No tire will last if abused. I have not had an issue with roll-out, just dont let out any air while hot or they will shrink.